Pioneering Ocean Planning

Last night, more than 400 people attended a meeting at the Marriott in downtown Providence to discuss the possibility of a Marine National Monument in New England. Facilitated by NOAA, the meeting drew people from every corner of New England who are invested in gaining permanent protection for the Cashes Ledge Area and the New…

I am proud to announce that construction on the nation’s first offshore wind farm is officially underway in Rhode Island! Today, incoming Conservation Law Foundation President Bradley Campbell and I have the honor to be a part of history in the making. We’re going to be boarding a ferry out to the Deepwater Wind project site with United States Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, the Director for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Abigail Ross Hopper, our congressional delegation, Rhode Island state and local leaders, and many of our environmental colleagues. Together, we will be celebrating a landmark project years in the making and the ocean management plan that made it possible.

“Aspirational…inspirational…perspirational…” These were the words embraced and repeated often by members of the Northeast Regional Planning Body during a public planning session in Mystic, Connecticut, on June 3 and 4. The Northeast Regional Planning Body was first convened in 2012, following President Obama’s 2010 Executive Order announcing the National Ocean Policy, which called for the development of regional ocean management plans nationwide. The goal: to create a uniquely New England ocean management plan.

In New England, the ocean is an integral part of our lives, economy, and communities. But today, our need for the ocean’s resources is growing. So New England is leading the way in creating the country’s first regional ocean plan to balance ocean protection with responsible development.

In 2008, Governor Deval Patrick signed the landmark first-in-the-nation Oceans Act mandating the state to develop and implement a science-based comprehensive ocean management plan to protect ocean wildlife and habitat and promote sustainable use of the ocean and its resources. The following year, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) issued the MA…

Rhode Island is a leader in the race to reap the environmental and economic benefits from offshore wind, according to a new report from the National Wildlife Federation, Catching the Wind: State Actions Needed to Seize the Golden Opportunity of Atlantic Offshore Wind Power. The report, cosponsored by Conservation Law Foundation, Environment Rhode Island and the Environmental Council of Rhode Island (ECRI), compares the actions by Atlantic Coast states toward progress on offshore wind, and Rhode Island ranks in the top tier for its commitment making offshore wind a reality. The report also contains a new analysis showing how the strong, consistent winds offshore can provide power to Rhode Island – bringing down energy costs and local pollution.

This week the Obama Administration is convening a two-day conference of global leaders to discuss and recommend actions that will improve the health of America’s and the world’s oceans and coasts. The Obama Administration is focusing on significant problems of ocean health such as the need to protect ocean habitat and to reduce the effects of climate change and ocean acidification. The President is expected to announce this afternoon that he will seek to extend the area of protected ocean under U.S. jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean.

Last night was an historic night in Rhode Island! The State of Rhode Island made its unanimous voice heard in a vote that is certain to be heard around the country. Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) approved Deepwater Wind’s application to build the Block Island Wind Farm and Block Island Transmission System. By…

Hitting Its Stride: The Transformation of Our Energy System is Reaching its Tipping Point… Clean Solutions for Dirty Water: Stopping Nutrient Pollution from Laying Waste to Our Waterways… Pioneering Ocean Planning: Making Room for All the Fish (and More) in the Sea…Funding on the Move: Solving New England’s Transportation Puzzle… A Model Investment: Building Healthy Communities One Neighborhood at a Time